History, Geography, & MilitaryDiscuss Quran protests spread to turbulent Afghan east at the Political Forums; I wonder just what the membership thinks about this? Asking if any Church has the right to burn another Religion ...

JALALABAD, Afghanistan – Demonstrators battled police in southern Afghanistan's main city on Sunday and took to the streets in the turbulent east for the first time as Western pleas failed to halt a third day of rage over a Florida pastor's burning of the Quran.

An officer was shot dead in a second day of clashes in the city of Kandahar, said provincial health director Qayum Pokhla. Two officers and 18 civilians were wounded, he said.

In Jalalabad, the largest city in the east, hundreds of people blocked the main highway for three hours, shouting for U.S. troops to leave, burning an effigy of President Barack Obama and stomping on a drawing of a U.S. flag. More than 1,000 people set tires ablaze to block another highway in eastern Parwan province for about an hour, said provincial police chief Sher Ahmad Maladani.

The violence was set off by anger over the March 20 burning of the Quran by a Florida church — the same church whose pastor had threatened to do so last year on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, triggering worldwide outrage.

The protests, which began Friday, also appear to be fueled more broadly by the resentment that has been building for years in Afghanistan over the operations of Western military forces, blamed for killing and mistreating civilians, and international contractors, seen by many as enriching themselves and fueling corruption at the expense of ordinary Afghans.

Coverage of the trial of a group of U.S. soldiers charged with killing Afghan civilians and the publication of photos of some posing with dead bodies added to the anger.

Thousands of demonstrators in the previously peaceful northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif poured into the streets after Friday's Muslim prayer services and overran a U.N. compound, killing three U.N. staff members and four Nepalese guards.

On Saturday, hundreds of Afghans holding copies of the Quran over their heads marched in Kandahar before attacking cars and businesses. Security forces opened fire and nine protesters were killed but the governor of Kandahar said officers had only fired into the air. He said 81 were wounded and 17 people, including seven armed men, had been arrested.

Military commander Gen. David Petraeus and the top NATO civilian representative in Afghanistan, Mark Sedwill, said they "hope the Afghan people understand that the actions of a small number of individuals, who have been extremely disrespectful to the holy Quran, are not representative of any of the countries of the international community who are in Afghanistan to help the Afghan people."

The Taliban said in a statement emailed to media outlets that the U.S. and other Western countries had wrongly excused the burning of the Quran as freedom of speech and that Afghans "cannot accept this un-Islamic act."

"Afghan forces under the order of the foreign forces attacked unarmed people during the protests, killing them and arresting some, saying there were armed people among these protesters, which was not true," the Taliban said.

The governor of Kandahar said he and the main leaders of the protests in the southern city had reached an agreement that would end the demonstrations in exchange for the release of those who were arrested. He said they released 25 people but did not provide details.

Sure they have the "Right" to do this, but what a jerk. He should be the one that gets shot knowing how crazy the people get, knowing that they will incite violence and people will die as a result of this "right".

Karzi (spel?) should be taken to task. The preachers who led the rioters should be tried. The killers should be hunted down and imprisoned and Rev Jones of Fla should be tried for sedition in a time of war. He was asked by the President and by Petreaus not to do this that it would endanger troops and others in Afghanistan.

burn a koran & death becomes the response while the koran burners are castigated
burn a Bible & the protesters are scorned for being too sensitive
burn an American flag & any protesters are reminded of the right to do so
they're all douche bags in my book & you can burn that all you want

burn a koran & death becomes the response while the koran burners are castigated
burn a Bible & the protesters are scorned for being too sensitive
burn an American flag & any protesters are reminded of the right to do so
they're all douche bags in my book & you can burn that all you want

x 7

Never mind the Koran. Go ahead, all you flag burners out there, and burn publicly any Muslim flag containing the word Allah or anything from the Koran. Show the same bravery and guts you show when you burn your country's flag.

Karzi (spel?) should be taken to task. The preachers who led the rioters should be tried. The killers should be hunted down and imprisoned and Rev Jones of Fla should be tried for sedition in a time of war. He was asked by the President and by Petreaus not to do this that it would endanger troops and others in Afghanistan.

Of all the replies which some I do agree with, yours salty is how I feel and should some how be done...

This church has started trouble that is yet to be over and lives are on the line.

Sure the Muslims over reacted. In the M.E. it happens every day. And any action by any group should understand this above all.

Preach the Peace of Jesus, and then do this after being asked not to by many
is rash, stupid (right there with West Boro) and unthinkable for any decent Christian.
But safe in America while we have so many troops in two wars in the M.E. is beyond belief... The troops who died and others to come should be blamed on this one church.
Or better the dead should be from members of this church, feel the same pain as the ones who have already.

Never mind the Koran. Go ahead, all you flag burners out there, and burn publicly any Muslim flag containing the word Allah or anything from the Koran. Show the same bravery and guts you show when you burn your country's flag.

There is such a thing as being above others though... sure, we can burn them. But at what cost? You would burn a Koran just because you can and knowingly jeopardize the innocent lives of others? Is that right?

What i want to know is how does what happens in a little town in where, Florida, make it to Afghanistan where a bunch of nimcompoop, ignorant hayseeds live. They can't read, They can't write and they don't know anything about personal hygiene. WHO made the big deal out of this?? Karzai? OBAMA? Sure would further his agenda of demonizing the US.

There is such a thing as being above others though... sure, we can burn them. But at what cost? You would burn a Koran just because you can and knowingly jeopardize the innocent lives of others? Is that right?

I was pointing out that the standard brave American flag burners are chicken to burn anything Muslim publicly for fear of getting their throats slit. Myself, I see no reason to attract any monkey's attention to me.